WRITER'S WORKSHOPS

Take What Is Raw and Craft It To Its Highest Form

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Legacy Writing: The Stories of Your Life

This class will help you find the meaningful stories of your life as you write about personal experiences and family history. Starting out with vignettes and short pieces, we'll sharpen your skills and begin shaping raw material into memoir, poetry, or personal essays. No writing experience necessary.​Instructor: Darlene Montonaro

Advanced Legacy Writing: The Stories of Your Life

This class is open only to those who have taken previous Legacy or Writing Habit classes and have become comfortable with freewriting. We'll continue to generate new material, but will apply gentle but critical workshopping and revision techniques to help you begin shaping raw material into memoir, poetry, or personal essays. Instructor Darlene Montonaro

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Tuesdays April 11 through May 2 (4 sessions) 6:30-8:00pmOrange Senior Center32205 Chagrin Boulevard, Pepper Pike $50 Contact Darlene to hold a seat. Payment due first day of class.

​Creative Writing

If you've always wanted to write (or are feeling rusty) and don't know where to start, this class will provide creative inspiration. With support and guidance we'll work with prompts that will help get words on the page and start you on the writing path. No former experience necessary.​Instructor: Darlene Montonaro

​A Side Note:

Art therapist Shaun McNiff says when the soul is lost, art comes spontaneously to its assistance. But the poetry wrangled from a personal tragedy or a broken heart is not necessarily good art. Often the earliest lesson we learn as writers is that there is a difference between venting and crafting. In my work with writers, I encourage participants to write freely without the censorship of the inner critic in order to get raw material onto the page; but I also emphasize taking this raw material and crafting it to its highest form, whether publication is desired by the student or not.

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My Mission

My work as a poet and my passion for teaching helps me to share the power of the arts and the value of living a creative life. I hope to show others how involvement in the arts can enrich our lives, and provide a meaningful underpinning to a life of growth and imagination.